Chapter 121: Are You Really the Third Best in the World?
"Götze has indeed returned!" Coach Schaaf sighed deeply upon seeing the opposing team's starting lineup, his last bit of hope completely dashed.
"It's good that Götze is back; this way, if we beat Dortmund, no one can say we won unfairly!"
Seeing the lively Götze on the field, Lin turned to De Bruyne and said, "Use the move I taught you when you face the Dortmund players!"
"Sure, don't worry, I'll surprise them!" De Bruyne nodded firmly, eager to try out the new skill.
At 7:30 PM, with the referee's whistle, the last match of this round of the German Cup, and a highly anticipated one at that, between Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund, began!
Right after the kickoff, Dortmund, as usual, pressed hard with fierce challenges and rapid movement, bombarding Bremen's defense.
A month ago, they had used this tactic to exact revenge on Bremen in the league, which filled the entire Dortmund team with confidence.
They felt they had found a way to limit Bremen's attack—by freezing the duo of stars and continuously bombarding the opponent's defense. They believed it wouldn't take half the match before their opponent would capitulate.
Last time, they had used this method to win the game on this field, crushing their opponents 5:2.
With Reus absent from this match, the team's offensive firepower might be slightly diminished, but scoring two or three goals should still be feasible.
Could Bremen's flimsy defense possibly withstand their attack?
Impossible!
In the first ten minutes of the match, the scene was dominated by Dortmund attacking Bremen's goal.
Their tactic of intense pressing combined with fast running seemed unstoppable. Even though Bremen had prepared beforehand, they still couldn't keep up with Dortmund's pace once they accelerated.
However, having learned from the last defeat, Bremen made specific adjustments for this match.
They assigned a player specifically to limit the opposing midfield organizer from easily sending threatening passes.
Dortmund had two organizers: Gündogan in the deeper midfield and Götze in the forward area.
Gündogan's position was too deep to be effectively contained, so Bremen decided to focus on Götze instead.
When Götze was near the center circle, it was De Bruyne who limited him.
If Götze continued to advance with the ball, Bremen's captain Fritz would join in to force him to pass.
From this position, which was still far from Bremen's goal, Götze's ability to pass threatening balls was not as strong as De Bruyne's.
His strength lay in his excellent dribbling, ball control, and evasion skills, which made him an effective striker in open play, which Dortmund excelled at.
However, Götze was not physically strong, and his ability to pass under pressure in position play was limited.
Bremen couldn't slow down the entire Dortmund team, but they could slow down Götze.
Despite appearing very passive in the first ten minutes and being constantly attacked, the fans at the stadium were anxious, sweating coldly with every shot from the opposition.
On the sidelines, Dortmund's coach Klopp looked very serious, not at all relaxed.
"Götze seems off today; could it be because he hasn't fully recovered from the flu?" his assistant coach worriedly remarked.
In the past ten minutes, Götze's performance had been mediocre. If it had been any other player, he wouldn't criticize them for an off day.
But for Götze, a performance like this was unacceptable—he was Dortmund's top star, how could he afford such a lackluster presence on the field?
If he wasn't in form, then Dortmund might have to rely solely on Lewandowski to win.
But if there was only one such threat, that would be too easy to defend against.
"His flu is over. The problem today is that the opponents are heavily limiting him, greatly reducing his space to operate," Klopp observed, growing increasingly concerned.
Why did it seem like Bremen's playstyle was vaguely familiar, almost reminiscent of Bayern Munich?
...
"Heh, I wonder if Klopp has noticed our defensive tactics!" On the home team's bench, seeing Klopp frowning on the sidelines made Schaaf and his assistants chuckle.
Klopp was right; Bremen's defensive tactics were indeed learned from Bayern Munich.
In the last round of the German Cup, Bayern Munich had designed a mobile cage tactic centered around Martinez specifically to limit Lin's effectiveness.
This tactic had worked well and inspired Bremen.
So, in this match, targeting the opponent's offensive core, they emulated Bayern and deployed this strategy.
Didn't the media on Dortmund's side call Götze the third best in the world, after Messi and Ronaldo?
Then they would use a tactic designed for the third-best in the world against him!
Göt
ze felt very constrained today; it seemed like not many were defending against him, but wherever he went, it felt like he was in an invisible cage, with nearly all his routes for breakthroughs and passes being anticipated and blocked by the opposition.
And the moment he hesitated, he would be aggressively pressed.
What annoyed him the most was that the opposition liked to engage in physical confrontations during these pressing moments.
His physical strength was even less robust than De Bruyne's.
Götze knew he was a technical midfielder who relied on his skills rather than physical strength.
If he bulked up to improve his physicality, it would reduce his speed and agility, affecting his offensive capabilities.
But now, facing Fritz's pressing and shoving, Götze regretted not being stronger.
If his physical strength had been slightly better, he wouldn't have lost control of the ball under pressure.
Once again, Fritz successfully stole the ball from him and quickly passed it to De Bruyne, who was dropping back to help.
Before even turning around, De Bruyne felt the presence of an opposing player rushing towards him.
Sensing the approach, De Bruyne didn't take the ball but waited for the defender to get close. At the moment of the opponent's tackle, he used his favored foot to cleverly flick the ball behind his supporting leg and completed a 180-degree turn.
Due to the defender's forward momentum, he couldn't adjust in time and was easily bypassed by De Bruyne.
After evading the nearest player, De Bruyne found himself with a clear field of vision, with no one within five meters to threaten him.
For a top-tier playmaker like De Bruyne, being unobstructed often meant he could deliver passes that were nothing short of miraculous.
Just like now, he spotted a defensive gap in Dortmund's rear and launched a precise long pass over 40 meters, perfectly placing the ball into open space.
Well passed!
Seeing this move, Lin internally applauded De Bruyne and then sprinted towards the ball.
The Dortmund players, realizing the threat, hurriedly retreated while trying to intercept Lin and contest the ball.
Lin wasn't the fastest, but his initial burst was powerful.
By the time his speed was fully engaged, the Dortmund players were just getting started.
The contest was decided in the first second, with Lin reaching De Bruyne's pass before the opponents.
Seeing Lin receive the ball, Bremen's forward Arnautović desperately squeezed into the opponent's penalty area.
Uncertain whether Lin would pass the ball to him, he prepared just in case, not wanting to waste a potential opportunity.
Dortmund's defenders didn't see Arnautović as much of a threat, but his active movements in the box made them nervous:
Could their number 10 actually pass to this big guy?
Unlikely, right?
Just then, as Lin carried the ball and glanced towards the Dortmund penalty area, seeming to look for his forward's position, Arnautović, seeing this, got even more excited and engaged more vigorously in the physical contest with the defenders.
Dortmund's central defenders, initially doubting that Lin would pass to Arnautović, now felt unsure.
Therefore, two central defenders tightly marked Arnautović, not giving him a chance to head the ball.
In previous encounters, Arnautović had created significant threats with his headers.
If they weren't careful, he might really manage to score with a header.
If Lin, a top striker, scored against them, Dortmund's defenders wouldn't feel too defeated.
They could console themselves by saying, "The opponent was too strong, it's normal not to stop him; didn't Bayern's defenders fail to stop him as well?"
But if they let Arnautović, the big clunky forward, score a header, they would be so upset they wouldn't be able to sleep for days.
Seeing Arnautović occupying the two central defenders, Lin internally praised him:
Arnautović, well done! When I find a way in the future, I'll recommend you go to China Super League to strike gold!
With the central defenders distracted, facing the defense of Dortmund's fullback, Lin used just two feints to easily bypass him.
Dortmund's captain, Hummels, realizing the danger, rushed to intercept Lin.
But by then, it was too late.
And with him gone, Arnautović had only one person marking him.
Facing Hummels's defense, Lin deceived him with a feint, shifting his weight, and then swiftly lofted a pass into the penalty area, truly passing to Arnautović.
Arnautović, initially not expecting the pass, was not prepared to head the ball directly at the goal. Instead, he chose to flick it with his head, redirecting it to the far post.
There, on the other side, winger Elia rushed in, sliding to the ground to shoot before the defenders could react, and drove the ball into the net.
"Lin, I'm sorry, I wasted your great pass!"
After his teammate scored what should have been his goal, Arnautović felt somewhat guilty and actually ran over to apologize to Lin.
"Heh, no worries, your header assist was beautiful. Get ready, and I'll send you another good pass soon!"
Lin also felt it was a pity that his pass turned into an assist by Arnautović.
But seizing this opportunity to take the lead, he was also very happy.
If Arnautović had chosen to head the ball directly, it might not have breached the goalkeeper's defenses.
So he didn't dwell on it further, embracing Arnautović, then went to celebrate with the rest of his teammates.
"Brilliant!"
Coach Schaaf, seeing the team capitalize on this counterattack to score a crucial goal, was thrilled.
He sensed that there wouldn't be many goals in this game.
At this moment, any goal was crucial; it might come down to this single goal to decide the outcome.
The fans at Weser Stadium, witnessing this goal, were also excited.
They had been under attack by Dortmund for a while and had recently suffered a crushing defeat at home.
Many fans felt today's match was likely a lost cause, but unexpectedly, they were the first to score.
This eased their minds and even led them to start dreaming about the future:
If they could win this match, then the two strongest teams in the German Cup—Bayern Munich and Dortmund—would both have been eliminated by them.
Among the remaining teams, none seemed as strong as them; they might actually have a chance to win the German Cup!
It had been four years since Bremen last won the German Cup. Unable to claim the league championship, the cup was of significant importance to them.
Winning it would not only end their years without a trophy but also secure a direct entry into the Europa League.
However, for Bremen at this moment, securing the cup meant more than the Europa League entry; maintaining their league position would enable them to represent the Bundesliga in the Champions League next season, facing many top teams.
Thinking of the German Cup trophy, the fans' excitement turned to nervous anticipation.
They desperately hoped the team could maintain the lead and not let Dortmund equalize.
After falling behind, Dortmund launched an even fiercer comeback.
Bayern Munich's unexpected elimination gave Dortmund hope of defending their German Cup title.
This season, the gap in league points with Bayern was too large, virtually declaring their league defense a failure.
Under these circumstances, winning the German Cup was crucial for them.
Klopp's team needed enough honors to maintain the squad's morale and motivate the players to fight aggressively and offensively on the field.
If they fought all season and ended up with nothing, the players would start doubting their efforts.
Why fight so fiercely if there's nothing to gain?
Dortmund relied on their fighting spirit to overcome strong opponents. If they lost that spirit, they would completely lose their ability to challenge Bayern.
A mere Werder Bremen could not be allowed to block their path to the cup!
Dortmund's war machine would ruthlessly crush any opposition!
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